Ethiopia
A Different World
"Now you talk about adventure," Paul began when asked about Ethiopia. In November of 2007, Paul and his daughter, Mary, traveled to Makki to assist Tim and Deborah Ricker, joint missionaries with HIM and SIM (Serving In Mission) to the Mursi people. While there, Paul was also able to evaluate needs for future short-term teams.
"It's very remote, so it’s not an easy place to take your typical short-term mission team," Christie explained. "They say, 'It's not the end of the earth, but you can see the end of the earth from Makki!'"
To reach the Mursi requires flying into Addis Ababa at an 8,000-foot elevation, then a multi-day jeep ride to a remote region at 2,000 feet. The temperature is about 90 degrees with twelve hours of daylight year-round. September 11 marks the beginning of the calendar year, which is divided into thirteen months. "They're also seven years off from our calendar, so you and I would be seven years younger while over there," Paul remarked.
"I'll give you one word," he mused, "A-cha-lee. Achalee means hello, good morning, good day, good night - whatever you want basically, in context. Achalee-ha is I like it. And you just add the ha's; Achalee-ha-ha-ha means I really like it a lot, and so on."
A nomadic people, the Mursi live to survive each day. Men watch over the tribe and protect the cattle from raiding tribes. "Other than that, women did everything," Paul noted. "They imitated the lion, where the male lion watches over things and the lionesses go out and do all the other work."
Until a few decades ago, the Mursi were unaware they were even part of a larger country called Ethiopia. Therefore, education was neither desired nor seen as necessary. It was nearly a decade after being reached before the first Mursi person came to Christ. The Church is now growing. However, as the authority structure in the tribe runs very deep, outside teachers were not allowed to directly instruct anyone in anything. Instead, a select number of people from the tribe were chosen to be taught, and then teach the rest of the tribe while they themselves began learning the next level. This is the method for academic education as well as Bible teaching. The Bible has not yet been translated to their language.
"You really do, when you're short-term, have to put a lot of trust in the people that you're going to," Christie explained.
The Kendalls are currently organizing a team to assist the Rickers in 2009. "So if you’re prepared for a challenge," Paul says, "we welcome you!"
Click here to learn more about Short Term Mission Teams at HIM.
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